Day 3 (Updated): Crews Make Substantial Progress on the Water Wheel Fire

Type-1 Helicopter at Payson Airport (Patrick Walker/NAZ Today)

UPDATE:  Beaver Valley residents have been allowed to return to their homes, and Whispering Pines residents will be allowed to return to their homes at 5 pm. Fire behavior is minimal, with crews focusing on mop-up operations.  Fire officials are saying that the focus will soon shift to localized flooding, with the remnants of Hurricane Jimena expected to impact the area over the weekend.  Resources are being released from the fire as the day continues.

PAYSON– Fire crews continued burnouts along the southern and eastern part of the Water Wheel Fire Monday, but according to the latest numbers from the Southwest Coordination Center’s 8:30 am briefing, the fire has still managed about a 50% gain in size to 773 acres.

Crews are reporting the most active fire behavior along the northern and northeastern parts of the fire, with Whispering Pines being to the north being the main concern.  The difficulty of the terrain and the step fuels into the pine trees have required a Type-1 Hot Shot crew to begin work on the fire.

Firefighters are scouting the western side of the fire for a place to establish a line.  Low-intensity fire behavior has been reported for much of the fire, but the northern edge of the fire is still burning intensely.  Whispering Pines remains evacuated.

Six hot shot crews are fighting the fire; one of them a Type-1 crew.  293 total personnel are assigned to the fire, along with three helicopters and 19 fire engines.  700 structures are listed as threatened.

Today’s weather calls for a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms over the area.  Winds will be from the northeast at 5-10 miles per hour, gusting to 20 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.  Locally gusty outflow winds are possible from thunderstorms that do develop over the area.